US-12621145-B1 - Storage-based secure communication with a physical cyber recover vault

Abstract

A storage-based secure communication system enables communication between a production site and a cyber recovery vault on a data replication facility. A control file is created in a controller-based file system that is accessible to both the production site and the cyber recovery vault. A communication subtask at the production site writes heartbeat and control information to the control file, encrypts the control file using the cyber recovery vault's public key, and digitally signs the control file using the production site's private key. A communication subtask at the cyber recovery vault reads the control file, decrypts the control file using the cyber recover vault's private key, and verifies the digital signature using the production site's public key. If the control file is determined to be valid, the control information contained in the control file is used to update the configuration of the cyber recovery vault on the data replication facility.

Inventors

• Dennis J. Trulli, JR.
• Peter Callewaert

Assignees

• DELL PRODUCTS, L.P.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20241106

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A method of using a storage-based secure communication system to communicate between a production site and a cyber recovery vault on a data replication facility, comprising: writing control information to a control file by a first communication subtask on the production site; encrypting the control file, by the first communication subtask on the production site, using a cyber recovery vault public key, to create an encrypted control file; digitally signing the encrypted control file, by the first communication subtask on the production site, using a production site private key to create a control file digital signature; reading the encrypted control file by a second communication subtask on the cyber recovery vault; decrypting the encrypted control file, by the second communication subtask on the cyber recovery vault, using a cyber recovery vault private key, to recreate the control file; verifying the control file digital signature, by the second communication subtask on the cyber recovery vault, using a production site public key; and in response to a determination that the control file digital signature is valid and that the control file is able to be recreated by decrypting the encrypted control file using the cyber recovery vault private key, implementing control operations on the cyber recovery vault in accordance with control information contained in the control file.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the control file is a set of one or more files implemented in a controller-based file system.
3. 3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the controller-based file system is an accessible file system that is accessible by both the production site and the cyber recovery vault, whereby communication between the production site and the cyber recovery vault is restricted to remote data forwarding links between a storage system at the production site and a storage system at the cyber recovery vault site.
4. 4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the controller-based file system is implemented on the production site.
5. 5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the controller-based file system is implemented on the cyber recovery vault.
6. 6 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising implementing public key exchange between the production site and the cyber recovery vault, the public key exchange comprising: writing the production site public key by the first communication subtask on the production site to a key exchange file in the controller-based file system; writing the cyber recovery vault public key by the second communication subtask on the cyber recovery vault to the key exchange file in the controller-based file system; reading the cyber recovery vault public key by the first communication subtask on the production site from the key exchange file in the controller-based file system; and reading the production site public key by the second communication subtask on the cyber recovery vault from the key exchange file in the controller-based file system.
7. 7 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising deleting the key exchange file after implementing the public key exchange between the production site and the cyber recovery vault.
8. 8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the control information specifies a data replication modality to be used to transmit data on a set of one or more remote data forwarding links between the production site and the cyber recovery vault on the data replication facility; and wherein implementing control operations on the cyber recovery vault in accordance with control information contained in the control file comprises changing the data replication modality used to transmit data on the set of one or more remote data forwarding links to match the control information.
9. 9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: creating snapsets of storage volumes in the cyber recovery vault at a predetermined cadence; and in response to a determination that the control file digital signature is not valid or that the control file is not able to be recreated by decrypting the encrypted control file using the cyber recovery vault private key, pausing creation of the snapsets of the storage volumes in the cyber recovery vault.
10. 10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the control information further contains heartbeat information, the method further comprising: creating snapsets of storage volumes in the cyber recovery vault at a predetermined cadence; determining whether a recent portion of the heartbeat information is absent from the control information and, in response to a determination that the recent portion of the heartbeat information is absent from the control information, pausing creation of the snapsets of the storage volumes in the cyber recovery vault.
11. 11 . A system for using a storage-based secure communication system to communicate between a production site and a cyber recovery vault on a data replication facility, comprising: one or more processors and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more processors, to cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: writing control information to a control file by a first communication subtask on the production site; encrypting the control file, by the first communication subtask on the production site, using a cyber recovery vault public key, to create an encrypted control file; digitally signing the encrypted control file, by the first communication subtask on the production site, using a production site private key to create a control file digital signature; reading the encrypted control file by a second communication subtask on the cyber recovery vault; decrypting the encrypted control file, by the second communication subtask on the cyber recovery vault, using a cyber recovery vault private key, to recreate the control file; verifying the control file digital signature, by the second communication subtask on the cyber recovery vault, using a production site public key; and in response to a determination that the control file digital signature is valid and that the control file is able to be recreated by decrypting the encrypted control file using the cyber recovery vault private key, implementing control operations on the cyber recovery vault in accordance with control information contained in the control file.
12. 12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the control file is a set of one or more files implemented in a controller-based file system.
13. 13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the controller-based file system is an accessible file system that is accessible by both the production site and the cyber recovery vault, whereby communication between the production site and the cyber recovery vault is restricted to remote data forwarding links between a storage system at the production site and a storage system at the cyber recovery vault site.
14. 14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the controller-based file system is implemented on the production site.
15. 15 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the controller-based file system is implemented on the cyber recovery vault.
16. 16 . The system of claim 12 , the operations further comprising implementing public key exchange between the production site and the cyber recovery vault, the public key exchange comprising: writing the production site public key by the first communication subtask on the production site to a key exchange file in the controller-based file system; writing the cyber recovery vault public key by the second communication subtask on the cyber recovery vault to the key exchange file in the controller-based file system; reading the cyber recovery vault public key by the first communication subtask on the production site from the key exchange file in the controller-based file system; and reading the production site public key by the second communication subtask on the cyber recovery vault from the key exchange file in the controller-based file system.
17. 17 . The system of claim 16 , the operations further comprising deleting the key exchange file after implementing the public key exchange between the production site and the cyber recovery vault.
18. 18 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the control information specifies a data replication modality to be used to transmit data on a set of one or more remote data forwarding links between the production site and the cyber recovery vault on the data replication facility; and wherein implementing control operations on the cyber recovery vault in accordance with control information contained in the control file comprises changing the data replication modality used to transmit data on the set of one or more remote data forwarding links to match the control information.
19. 19 . The system of claim 11 , the operations further comprising: creating snapsets of storage volumes in the cyber recovery vault at a predetermined cadence; and in response to a determination that the control file digital signature is not valid or that the control file is not able to be recreated by decrypting the encrypted control file using the cyber recovery vault private key, pausing creation of the snapsets of the storage volumes in the cyber recovery vault.
20. 20 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the control information further contains heartbeat information, the operations further comprising: creating snapsets of storage volumes in the cyber recovery vault at a predetermined cadence; determining whether a recent portion of the heartbeat information is absent from the control information and, in response to a determination that the recent portion of the heartbeat information is absent from the control information, pausing creation of the snapsets of the storage volumes in the cyber recovery vault.

Description

FIELD This disclosure relates to computing systems and related devices and methods, and, more particularly, to storage-based secure communication with a physical cyber recovery vault. SUMMARY The following Summary and the Abstract set forth at the end of this document are provided herein to introduce some concepts discussed in the Detailed Description below. The Summary and Abstract sections are not comprehensive and are not intended to delineate the scope of protectable subject matter, which is set forth by the claims presented below. All examples and features mentioned below can be combined in any technically possible way. According to some embodiments, storage-based secure communication with a physical cyber recovery vault operates to enable communication between a production site and a cyber recovery vault on a data replication facility without requiring TCP/IP connectivity between the production site and cyber recovery vault. In some embodiments, the storage-based secure communication includes a control file in an accessible file system of the production site. The term file system, as used herein, refers to a logical or physical system for organizing, managing, and accessing files and directories on a device's solid-state drive (SSD), hard-disk drive (HDD), or other storage media. The production site and cyber recovery vault exchange public keys of respective public/private encryption key pairs. A communication subtask at the production site writes heartbeat and control information to the control file and encrypts the control file using the cyber recovery vault's public key. The communication subtask at the production site also signs the control file using the production site's private key. A communication subtask at the cyber recovery vault reads the control file, decrypts the control file using the cyber recover vault's private key, and verifies the signature of the control file using the production site's public key. In response to a determination that the control file is valid, the control information contained in the control file is used to update the configuration of the cyber recovery vault on the data replication facility. In some embodiments, a method of using a storage-based secure communication system to communicate between a production site and a cyber recovery vault on a data replication facility, includes writing control information to a control file by a first communication subtask on the production site, encrypting the control file, by the first communication subtask on the production site, using a cyber recovery vault public key, to create an encrypted control file, and digitally signing the encrypted control file, by the first communication subtask on the production site, using a production site private key to create a control file digital signature. The method also includes reading the encrypted control file by a second communication subtask on the cyber recovery vault, decrypting the encrypted control file, by the second communication subtask on the cyber recovery vault, using a cyber recovery vault private key, to recreate the control file, and verifying the control file digital signature, by the second communication subtask on the cyber recovery vault, using a production site public key. The method also includes, in response to a determination that the control file digital signature is valid and that the control file is able to be recreated by decrypting the encrypted control file using the cyber recovery vault private key, implementing control operations on the cyber recovery vault in accordance with control information contained in the control file. In some embodiments, the control file is a set of one or more files implemented in a controller-based file system. In some embodiments, the controller-based file system is an accessible file system that is accessible by both the production site and the cyber recovery vault, and communication between the production site and the cyber recovery vault is restricted to remote data forwarding links between a storage system at the production site and a storage system at the cyber recovery vault site. In some embodiments, the controller-based file system is implemented on the production site. In some embodiments, the controller-based file system is implemented on the cyber recovery vault. In some embodiments, the method further includes implementing public key exchange between the production site and the cyber recovery vault, the public key exchange including writing the production site public key by the first communication subtask on the production site to a key exchange file in the controller-based file system, writing the cyber recovery vault public key by the second communication subtask on the cyber recovery vault to the key exchange file in the controller-based file system, reading the cyber recovery vault public key by the first communication subtask on the production site from the key exchange file in the controller-based file system